Specimen 1
by icefirestorm
Summary: AU 2K7 Movie Leonardo never came home. The Winters incident never occurred. What happened to the eldest? Will the brothers ever find out? Will the family ever be whole?
1. Chapter 1

Specimen 1

**Disclaimer: Own them? I would if I could but I can't so I won't.**

Three years. Three long years since he had last seen his eldest son. Two years with no word. One year since he had detected even a hint of that longed for presence in his meditations. He could deny it no longer, Leonardo must be dead. Now to tell his remaining sons what he had been forced to conclude. It would not be pretty.

Donatello had not faired well under the burden of leadership. In fact, he was leader only in title now. Most of the purple genius' time was now spent working on the phone or making repairs to their home. He had withdrawn from the family and only Michaelangelo seemed to be able to draw him into any conversation at all.

His youngest son had become so quiet. It was a bitter pill to swallow, how many times he had wished for the boy to be more still, more silent, more mature. Now he longed for the laughter and teasing that had once been so common. The light was still there, he still acted young and silly for his work entertaining small children, but at home he was as a lamp under a shade.

Raphael. Raphael was rarely seen. Since it had been revealed that he was patrolling alone at night as the Nightwatcher, he was only at home to sleep and eat. Occasionally he would bring home the monies taken from drug deals interrupted to help support his family, but the only one he really spoke to any longer was Casey Jones. April assured Splinter that she spoke to him as well and believed he was reaching a point that he wished to reconnect with his family once more. Splinter feared that his decision to declare Leonardo dead would drive Raphael away into the night again.

But it had to be done. There could be no healing until the sore was lanced. It would be painful, but hopefully the family would finally be able to move on afterwards. The old rat picked up the blue mask his eldest had left behind and warily stood to leave his room.

It was time, he slid back the door, raised his head and stepped into the future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Yukio87: Thankyou! As for your questions… you'll see, you'll see, you'll see. Lol Seriously though concerning Splinter, he wouldn't declare Leo dead unless he's lost all hope. I picture him as sort of resigned at this point.**

MIchaelangelo was really looking forward to this, he'd gone all out tonight. Fettucinine alfredo, garlic bread, salad and roasted red pepper chicken with chocolate mousse for dessert. Raphael was actually in the house at dinner time for a change and Mikey would drag Donnatello out of his lab by the headset if he had to. They were going to have a proper family dinner, and if all went well, maybe some honest to goodness conversation.

Things had been rough, the youngest turtle would be first to admit. But lately Mikey had started feeling up again, Master Splinter had always been a rock, Raph was spending more and more time around even if he wasn't really talking yet and Mike wasn't going to let Donatello stay cooped up much longer. The family chef pulled the chicken out of the oven and nearly dropped it when he saw his brothers already at the table.

"Smells good Mike. Is it ready yet?" Wow, Donnie's voice was hoarse from talking on the phone all day, but apparently his stomach and good sense had won out for a change.

His little brother beamed. "Yeah, yeah Donnie, just lemme get Sensei and we can start."

Then Master Splinter walked in. _Mission Family Reunion is a go. Everyone's here on their own too._ But then he saw the look on his father's face, the blue mask in his paw and everything fell apart all over again. _Why now? Why tonight?_

"My sons. There is no good time, no good way to say this…but…" Splinter sighed and composed himself, "I do not believe Leonardo still lives."

There it was. The secret fear they were all denying. But now, they couldn't turn away from it anymore. Their father had laid it out plain and now they were forced to acknowledge it. Not that they all would without a fight.

"No. No way Mastah. This is Leo. We would know if he was gone. 'E's probably found 'imself some little cornah 'o paradise and doesn' wanna come back is all."

Donatello couldn't help but shake his head at the contradictions in Raphael. He simultaneously believed Leo too great to be brought down and too self centered to come home to his family. It was as if he couldn't decide whether to admire or despise his older brother.

He turned to check how Mikey was reacting and sighed watching silent tears run down his little brother's cheeks. _Oh Mikey._ The purple turtle reached over and pulled the weeping turtle into a hug.

"Ssshhh. Easy little brother, easy."

Raised voices drew his attention back to his older brother and father.

"My son, I realize this is difficult to accept.."

"Difficult? This is my big brother you're talkin' abou' here!"

"And my _son_!"

Huh. So it was possible to shut Raph up.

"I wish I could say differently Raphael. More than anything I wish that. You're theory that he had simply chosen to stay away is something I wish I could believe, though I think you know as well as I that Leonardo would never do so. But we have not heard from him since before he was set to return and though I have searched deeply I have not been able to find even a trace of his presence in over a year. Please, believe me Raphael, I would not give up on his return if I did not truly believe your brother beyond hope. I am sorry my son. I am so, so sorry."

Raph shook his head twice more in denial before his seemed to curl inside himself. He glanced up at his remaining brothers and drew up again. His eyes narrowed and he asked, "Donnie? Why are you so calm? Don't you care? He's sayin' our brothah is dead."

The turtle in question heaved a sigh. "Because I'm not surprised Raph. It's been so long, I kinda figured something had happened to Leo when he didn't come home. I just didn't say anything because, well, I suppose saying it would make it real. And I didn't want to take away what hope was left." He pulled Mikey a little closer. "I guess I've already accepted he was gone and done my mourning a long time ago."

Michaelangelo started crying harder, as if the idea that his smartest brother had given up on Leonardo's return made it even more unlikely that he still lived. This seemed to be the last straw for the now eldest brother. He stood and stormed out of the Lair, woe to any crooks who crossed his path this dark night.

Splinter sighed again and sat in the chair next to his two youngest. He would do what he could to comfort them, and hopefully Raphael would be more receptive in the morning.

_But this was supposed to be a _good_ night._ The broken thought echoed through the youngest turtle's whirling mind. _No, no, nonononono. This isn't right. No, he can't be gone. No, he's coming home someday. He is! He promised! No._ Mikey was helpless in the face of grief so long denied. All he could do was ride out the storm while clinging to his father and brother, his anchors. All he could do was try to ignore the voice whispering from somewhere inside, _what do we do now?_

Raphael skidded to a halt on the icy roof and wondered how he'd gotten to Casey and April's place. The mad dash from the lair and over the streets had been little more than a blur of brick and tar. He stared in through the windows. The happy couple sitting down to dinner after a hard day at work. If he went down there, that would change in an instant. Casey was closest to Raph no doubt, but he had still liked Leo, and while April was Donnie's tech buddy she'd become an older sister to them all and Raph knew that Leo had gone to her when he needed to talk with someone he wasn't responsible for or too. How, how could Raph break this to them? He suddenly had a surge of sympathy and guilt. _This must be how Splintah felt before he told us. I shouldn't a gone off on him like that but…_ He closed his eyes and tried to brace himself. _This is gonna suck._

Before he could pysch himself out too much, the emerald turtle leapt across the street and descended the fire escape to his friend's living room window. Two soft knocks and April's smiling face appeared to open it for him. She wasn't smiling long. She'd gotten to know her boys well and something was obviously very wrong.

"Sorry tah drop in on yahs like this but, well. Crud. Um."

Uncharacteristic stammering only added to April's concern.

"Raph, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

He looked up into her eyes and felt tears swimming in his own. Casey came up behind her and reached over to put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Raphie? C'mon man, what's goin' on?"

The distressed turtle squeezed his eyes shut and forced the words out.

"Splintah has declared Leo dead."

April gasped as her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes flew to her husband. Casey lowered his head and a groan rose from deep inside his chest. Many times the couple had worried about what would happen should four ever become three, and the last few years had been an unwelcome preview. To know that one of their strange little family wouldn't be coming home was painful. But right know, they had a job to do. As one they reached out and drew Raphael into a three way hug as the tears began to flow for all of them. For now they would support each other, the next day they would tend to the rest of the clan. As for the days, weeks and months to come? They would think about that when they had too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: It's called FANfiction for a reason people!**

**Kateeh: Glad you're enjoying it! I always thought they didn't give enough reason for Leo staying there too. Thankyou for your kind review.**

**Sav: I am pleased to have piqued your interest, and I've gotta say, I was grinning like an idiot by the end of your second review. Lol As for Donnie being cold, (what's with people thinking I write characters cold?) people grieve differently and at the moment he was a little more concerned with his family for whom the trauma was "fresher" from his point of view. At least that's how I see it. Make sense?**

**Yukio87: Some more "you'll sees" for you my friend. Hehehehehe I honestly considered holding off on this for a long time just to mess with people. I'm twisted that way. ;P**

The Lair was still and dark when Raphael and the Jones' entered that evening. The turtle's sensitive nose detected yesterday's dinner cold and untouched in the kitchen. Not surprising everyone had lost their appetite. Raphael himself had only had the tea and baking soda bisquits April forced on him after he'd swayed and wretched through the end of his tears the night before. None of them had slept, only sat in silence, drawing comfort from being with the family that they could, and remembering the one that should be there.

It didn't take Raph long to find the rest of his family. They were all curled up together on Splinter's futon as they had during the long winters of their childhood. A delicate hand grasped his own and April whispered in his ear.

"You must be exhausted Raph. Join them. We'll get things sorted around out here and there'll be food ready for you guys when you get up."

His look to her was pure gratitude. _All our screwed up turtle luck has to be the balance to havin' her in our lives. There's no otha answer, she's just so good to us._ He just couldn't help himself, he placed a quick rare kiss on her cheek then crept into the room and under the covers with his family, limbs scaled and furry instinctively shifting to let him in.

Bittersweet tears rolled down April's face to join her hand where it sat over the most precious butterfly kiss she had ever, and suspected, would ever receive. The door was closed as quietly as a non-ninja can and the young redhead went to help her husband set the subterranean home to rights before engaging in the one custom the Japanese and the British held in common, more tea.

It took nearly twelve hours for the Lair's mutant population to surface from their father's warm den, though they had actually been awake for awhile. One by one they had woken up, then laid together, hands rubbing soothing circles on shells when the reality of the days before caught up to them. Finally hunger and a pressing need for the washroom had driven them all out into the Lair proper and the waiting arms of their favourite humans.

"April's got tea ready for all 'o yahs and breakfast will only take a minute."

Donatello managed a half smile. "Thanks Casey. I'm sorry, I don't think we'll be good company today."

The large human waved off his concerns. "Nah Donnie, taday we're company for youse, howevah you want us."

Splinter felt a wave of warmth run through him. His sons were so very lucky to have made such good friends. "Thankyou Mister Jones. We all appreciate what you are doing for us. Come let us sit and relax, I do not think any of us are up for much more than that right now."

And so the day went, all of them sitting in the living room, occasionally changing seats to sit near whoever seemed to need comfort most at any given time. The next few days were like that as a matter of fact, until slowly the need for their old routine slid to the forefront. Don's unexpected absence had already cost him his job so he wasn't too concerned about jumping right back into things, and Mikey didn't have any gigs scheduled for some time. Splinter eased his sons back into training, first with easy katas and light meditation. The healing process had begun, there was only major hurdle left. Though he could not give his lost son the burial he deserved, some sort of memorial was required. It took some time, and difficult conversations, but eventually they decided to make Leonardo's room into a sort of shrine to the kind turtle that had meant so much to them all. In actuality, the various members of the family had been going to his room ever since Leonardo had left, to think and get a sense of being near him, among his few treasured possessions and lingering scent.

Now they kept candles burning on his small writing table in front of the most recent picture they had of him, curtesy of April's tendency to grab candid photos at random. Two months later they all seemed to finally be moving on, though they all had their moments of melancholy or times when something would remind them of a time spent with Leo.

One night Raphael snuck out after an unsettling dream and found himself in older brother's room. He relit the candles that had been blown out earlier and sat cross legged on the low bed to do something he hardly ever did of his own volition. Meditate. He wasn't the best of them, but he was able to get deep enough to pick up on things the average person was never aware of, and maybe, if there was something left of his big brother out there, well, he could use the comfort after the aching loneliness he'd felt lately.

His mind threw out into the dark._ Leo. Leeeeooooo! Please Leo, I miss you…..Aniki._

Splinter sighed out of his late night mediation, his second son's plaintive call still echoing through his mind. There would be no sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: You know what that means.**

**Sorry for the delay guys, life strikes again.**

**3dot1: Awww shucks.**

**PoisonIvy7: Thankyou, and thankyou. Mikey of all of them I see living in a bit of denial through all this, but I'm glad you think I got Donnie and Raph right.**

The pizza was sitting warmly in his stomach, April was clinging to Casey while Mikey clung to her, Raph was dozing on the floor next to him and Splinter was watching the supposed oriental demon rip through unwary teens on the riotous screen. Donatello could safely say he hadn't been this content in years. The loss of his eldest brother still weighed in the back of his mind but now it was a comfortable rememberence of one he loved rather than a sharp pang. The rest of his family was around him, drawn closer than they had been for quite some time, but something was nagging at him, oddly brought to the fore by the admittedly stupid movie they were watching. What had happened to Leo? Donatello hated unanswered questions to begin with and do have such a big one about someone he loved? It was driving him a little nuts.

The young inventor had already started a search online without his families knowledge. He didn't want to draw up sad feelings for them when they had finally moved on, and he honestly didn't know that he would ever find anything anyway. Locating a missing mutant ninja that was TRYING to hide in South America? It would've been easier to dig up proof of Atlantis. Seriously, he'd done it one night out of boredom. But something else niggled at him while searching for his lost brother. They had put a great deal of effort into Leo's shrine and memorial but, without a body, without knowing the circumstances of this brother's death, was Leo at peace? Copper eyes wandered as he thought. Donnie was a scientist at heart, but he was also a ninja and Splinter made sure his sons were aware of what else was out there. During their mediation sessions, they became very familiar with each other's presence and at this point they could even find each other over some distance. But their training had also taught him that they should be able to feel something of their lost brother and that bothered him. Was he at peace, and if not, what could he do?

Mikey's screech of terror jolted Donnie out of his thoughts and he resolved to focus on the family he had with him for now. The search would continue when he got home.

Raph craned his neck to look over his shell. Sneaking around in a house full of ninjas was enough to make even him a little nervous. He did not want to answer the questions should he be caught. Finally he decided he had made it and relaxed as he eased open the door to the lab. _Crud._ _Really Donnie? Still on the computer? Does this guy ever sleep? Wait is thatta map… of Bolivia?_

"Hey Donnie, what's shakin'?"

Raphael felt a rush of juvenile satisfaction as his little brother about came out of his skin. _Yup, scarin' Donnie outta 'is shell nevah gets old._

The startled turtle had a hand on his plastron over his racing heart and a heated glare on his older brother.

"Seriously Raph! What are you, twelve?"

All he got in return was smirk.

"Really though Don, whatcha doin'?"

_Dang._

"Uh nothing. Just messing around."

Raph snorted and crossed his arms as he leaned on the door jam.

"Yeah sure. Pull the othah one. I ain't the fastest turtle in the Lair bro, but I can only thinka one reason for yah to be lookin' at a map 'o Bolivia."

_Caught._ Donnatello sighed.

"Ok, you got me. I now it's probably too little too late but, dammit Raph I want to know what happened to our brother."

The emerald turtle sighed and walked into the room.

"I hear yah bro. So do I. I could kick mahself for not headn' down there the day aftah he didn't show up, but it's been years Don. Even I know the chances o' findin' somethin' are slim tah none. Not tah mention any unwanted attention we might get if we poke aroun' in the wrong places."

That last point actually hadn't occurred to the young genius, maybe a healthy paranoia came with being a real Leader. Raph had really stepped up as of late, and was starting to emulate Leo in a sort of spooky way. A way Donnatello himself had never managed.

"I don't disagree Raph but…" he turned begging eyes on his big brother, "Don't we owe it to Leo to at least try?"

And there was the crux of the matter. As Raph himself had pointed out, they had let their brother down when they hadn't gone looking for him years ago. Even if nothing came of it, the least they could do was try now.

His cinder block head slowly nodded. "Yeah Donnie. We do. Keep at it, if yah need anythin' lemme know. I'll tell Mikey and Splintah in the mornin'. I'm pretty sure they're gonna wan' in on this too."

With that he turned and went to the kitchen, if their resident hacker was gonna pull this one off, he was gonna need all the coffee he could get.

Michaelangelo hated the jungle. Even though it had taken his big bro, the optimist of the family had been willing to give it a chance. But after the long trip, the heat, the bugs, the parasites, dodging poisonous things of every sort and even getting bitten by one of their smaller cousins, he'd had it. _The jungle bites, I don't even care if they chop it down anymore._ The eco geek in him had died in this green hell.

Four months of searching and finally a lead from one of April's contacts in the antique business had led them here. _I still don't get how that happened._ Now the family was scouring the forest in search for any sign of their lost turtley lamb.

The orange turtle sighed and prepared to duck inside another damp bug infested cave. _Ugh. So gross, the sewers are better than this._ Eventually the ceiling sloped too low to stand and he turned to leave but stopped with a jolt. There in the mud was a very familiar three fingered hand print. The others were far away so it couldn't be them. _Really!?_

With eyes wide he practically dove into the slop and wiggled through the tiny gap. He was relieved to discover that the roof soared on the other side. As he shuffled along in the dark he became aware of a soft light ahead, and as he rounded the corner there was a fire with, and he couldn't believe this, the back of a large turtle shell facing him in the flickering light._ He's alive? He's alive!_

He bound across the distance hardly able to contain himself.

"Leo! Leo! We've found you! I've missed you so much!"

The threw himself to his brother's side and grabbed his shell, turning him over.

Only to recoil in horror as the scavenger picked skeleton fell apart in his hands.

Mike all but lunged out of bed in his attempt to leave the nightmare behind. He knelt on the cool stone floors of his room as he struggled to get his lungs, heart and stomach back under control. Finally he just sank to the floor and wept. Four months his family had been scouring the internet for any information on Leonardo, four months of ever worsening nightmares. Why, why did he have peace when they had given up only to be tortured while they tried to do the right thing? Eventually he calmed enough to get up and slowly make his way to the washroom. A shower, water always helped. Water meant safety and freedom to a turtle, even a mutant one.

As he stood under the soothing spray he ordered his thoughts. It was Monday, though oddly, it felt like a Sunday. A glance at the clock in his room had told him that his family had let him sleep in. After he nearly passed out in training from exhaustion, they had agreed to let him get all the rest his body told him he needed. He kinda wished they hadn't, nightmares sucked. Though, sleeping with Raph and Donnie helped, they couldn't stay with him in bed all the time. Donnie had a search to continue and, if he remembered correctly, Raph was helping Casey with some heavy lifting at April's shop today.

After drying off the sleepy turtle meandered down to the couch, not yet awake enough to eat. He lazily turned on the tv and dozed through the news. His eyes popped open, and he sat straight up.

"Donnie!"

"There."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think. Ummm…"

"You're sure."

Raph and Casey grunted as they lowered the statue to the ground. April smiled sheepishly as they stretched sore arms and shoulders. All morning the boys had been at her beck and call setting up the new antiques she had received in preparation of a special sale she was having the next day. Normally they were happy to help, but the petite red head had been unusually picky that day and they were getting a little fed up. She ran upstairs to get them each a beer in the hopes of making it up to them and grabbed the ringing phone as she ran back down.

"Hey Raph it's Donnie for you. Forget your cell?"

He grinned, "Yeah, thanks. Don? Whas' up?"

"Get back here Raph. Get back here right now."

Raphael practically bolted as Don hung up the phone._ What now?_

Raphael, Casey and April all barrelled into the Lair full pelt.

"Donnie?" Bellowed Raph across the empty space.

"In here Raph." Donnatello's clipped response came from the Lab.

The three walked in to see Don, Mike and Splinter all clustered around the computer.

"What's goin' on?"

"Shut up, just get over here and watch."

They made room for the ones not in the know to gather around the screen. It was a news report. The pretty anchor turned to the screen.

"Thankyou Jess. In other news, an exciting announcement from the San Francisco Zoo. They have the first known specimen of a new species discovered in South America. Believed to be the only truly bipedal reptile since the dinosaurs and the only known arboreal turtle."

There on the screen was a ragged, thin, and beautifully alive Leonardo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Nope nope nope.**

**Knighted-Geek: Glad you're enjoying it. Now Leo's story will begin to unfold.**

**Yukio87: Guess what? You'll see.**

**Tmntleonardo19: Sorry for making you wait but, real life takes precedence don't it?**

**Dondena: I don't think so, and it is for Leo whumpers. ;P**

**Sav: Yeah the reviews are a bit borked. Sometimes I don't get them on for days after they show up in my email, but they always show up eventually.**

**Cup-mikey-gertha: I'll answer all of your reviews in order. Splinter didn't know what Mikey was planning, and frankly was a little preoccupied when he came into the kitchen. Glad you liked the "Aniki" touch, and so happy I caught someone by surprise.**

**Dragonflylj: If you'll come this way? You can join Yukio in the "you'll see" room.**

_Three years ago in a land far, far away._

Bugs, bugs and more bugs. If Raph had been here Leonardo would most likely be in real danger of dying from laughter, as it was, he was in real danger of being killed by the bugs, and by the time he got home, the young ninja wagered, he'd join his little brother in freaking out over the creepy crawlies. They were in the air, on the ground, in the plants, his bedding, even his food! Well, in all fairness, sometimes they were the food, but still, the constant creeping things was getting old. He was actually starting to miss sewer rats for crying out loud!

And that wasn't even mentioning the poisonous snakes, the parasites he kept having to pick out of his skin, the heat and dodging the locals. He was thoroughly ready to go home. Unfortunately he had another six months left in the year Master Splinter had asked him to stay away. In principle, he both understood and appreciated the reason for his "exile", after all, how could he lead and take care of his family in the future if he couldn't fend for himself. The leaf green turtle just wished that he had been able to learn this lesson in the familiar sewers of New York. But Splinter had thought that Leonardo might benefit from a warmer climate and so, one long ride as a stow away on a freighter bound for South America and an arduous trek deep into the jungle to better avoid people, here he was. Not that he really knew where here was. All he knew was to get back to the port he had to head due north for two weeks, maybe less as now he had a better grasp of how to travel in the rain forest.

Lesson one, ninjas aren't quite monkeys but they still do better in the canopy than on the ground. Lesson two, darkness may be his ally in the city, but in the jungle he really needed to be able to see his surroundings as best possible. He was a turtle after all, not a cat. Though his more animal nature had been to his advantage in other ways. For one thing, the heat would've been much worse if he'd been warm blooded. For another, the small lake he'd settle at was surrounded by a honeycomb cave system, much of which was only accessible from underwater passages, giving him a cool and secure home underground.

And the dark eyed turtle was never more thankful for his shell than the time a jaguar had caught him unawares on one of his early night time forays, pouncing on his armoured back from the darkness. If he had been human, the claws and teeth in his spine would have certainly been his end, as it was, there were some new gouges and scuffs in his shell, and a lesson well learned about staying somewhere safe at night.

Leonardo had settled into a routine of sorts now. Woken in the morning by the sun streaming through one of the small holes in the ceiling that served him as both an air shaft and a chimney. Stir the coals in the fire pit. Ease into the water and swim through the passage to the main lake. Do four laps of the lake, both in and out of the water. Indulge in a little basking. Gather wood and take it back home to dry, eat some fruit and dried meat for breakfast, then back out into the forest to gather more food. Next, meditation and katas followed by his new hobby, jungle arts and crafts, for lack of a better term. He'd started experimenting with local plant life and parts of his kills to make ropes, blankets and containers of various sorts. One last pass around the area during the early evening then dinner and bed. Rinse and repeat.

In his sleep though, he was home. Surrounded by the familiar and the ones he loved. He appreciated having a new experience, all his own, and he would have great stories to tell, but all he really wanted, needed, was his family. And maybe that was the greatest lesson of all, after all, what good was a leader without someone to lead? What good was Leonardo without his little brothers? _Six months, just six more months. Then I'll be home. I miss you guys. I love you. Good night. Don't let the bed bugs,_ "Ack! Stupid little shell sucking critters!" _sigh, bite._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nah nah nah nah nah nah…. I can't hear you.**

_Another day, another_ "C'mon! Enough already!"_ bug bite._ Leonardo was getting desperate, lately the bugs had been getting even worse, maybe their breeding season had set in or something, but he was seriously getting eaten alive. He'd finally been driven to the point that he spent most of his waking hours under water, surfacing only to grab a quick gulp of air before his tormentors could find him again. When he did get out he made sure to coat himself with a thick layer of mud before leaving the water's edge. So far it had made a difference, though he was getting sick of mud trapped in unmentionable places. _Do I seriously have to wait until I'm in a sewer again to feel clean? _

Right now he was lounging on the bottom of his lake, in the shallows near enough to the surface for basking while safe under the surface. On all sides of him water weeds swayed in the gentle waves and he made sure to keep an eye out for any anaconda or caiman on the prowl. He'd had a good breakfast so he could doze here in the sun which would also help him conserve air and stay away from the bugs longer.

Eventually though, all turtles must breathe, so he surfaced quickly and sunk back down. Unfortunately, his timing was horrible. He was soon startled awake a shadow moving over him. A glance up revealed the silhouette of a local fishing boat. _ When did they get here? I must be slipping._ It had been a couple months since the locals had fished here so he supposed he should have been more on guard. They were nearly as big a threat as the predators, since unlike the city humans he was used to, the natives knew the value of silence. They had spotted him when he'd taken his last breathe and quietly glided the boat over to investigate. They weren't strangers to turtles, but they'd likely never seen a shell a large as his.

He tried to sink lower into the weeds to hide, cursing his new addiction to the sun. Then, a long pole came down and started poking around. He slowly started moving away, trying not to overly disturb the weeds and give himself away. But Raphael's turtle luck seemed to be with him today as the sick caught him in the shell. _Time to get out of here._ A burst of speed launched him out of the weeds and towards the deeper water. He had enough air to hide there for some time and work his way back to his den. They wouldn't find him in that labyrinth.

There was a loud splash as one of the natives dove in and grabbed him by the shell. _Are you serious!_ It had been a long time since anyone had tried that. What they didn't count on was that he was quite more manuverable than the average turtle, and much stronger. He didn't want them to realise his true shape so he whirled and snapped at them. The young man, he could see now, let go to avoid his teeth and Leo slipped off into the dark. It would be some time before he saw the sun again.

A month or so later, what he had dreaded arrived. Scientists. He knew the locals might tell someone. Getting to play guide would bring in money, and if something rare lived there, the government might declare the area a sanctuary, keeping out loggers and the like. So the frustrated turtle was forced to stay in his caves, but without being able to go out and forage for fuel and food, they had become cold and he was getting hungry. The crawlies not being enough to sustain a creature of his size. Finally he was forced out under cover of dark to find something. He went out into the jungle, knowing they would likely be focusing on the water. After a long night of work he returned with enough to carry him through for awhile, they couldn't stay forever after all. And on it went. For three months they stayed eventually leaving empty handed, but the natives remained. His lake was no longer safe. So one day he gathered what he could and left. Deeper into the jungle, looking for a safe place. _Just two more months, then I can go home. Just two more. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: You know what this is, you know what this means. **

**Please forgive if anything seems unrealistic, I'm doing a lot of guess work here.**

**Sav: You'll see m'dear, you'll see. (getting sick of this yet? Lol)**

**Yukio87: You and Sav should form a club.**

**LeonardoTheLeader: Thankyou, and I hope I continue to impress. As for poor Leo, he's in for a lot longer than two months.**

**Tmntleonardo19: Yeah, not in my world. Leo gonna get whumped.**

**AriMarvelUniverse: Best comic book verse am I right? And I stopped for dramatic flair.**

**Dragonflylj: I do no think this gonna go, the way you think it gonna go. And I agree with the slow build thing, so many times I've started reading a story only for them to rush what would have been a very enjoyable plot idea and leave me wanting more. As it is I want to work on drawing out this longer, but I'm having a hard time holding back. As for the bugs, I've never been to South America, but I've heard stories. And for a large portion of my childhood, I lived in one of the most bug infested places I've ever seen in Canada. If it wasn't a cloud of mosquitoes that blocked any sight of your feet, it was blackfly chewing on the back of your neck, or deerfly taking chunks out of you. We actually used to take one of those inflatable dingys out on the water with us when we went swimming. We'd turn it upside down and surface underneath it to get air because the flies would hover waiting for us to come up and take a bite. So I can only imagine how much worse the jungle would be.**

_Not what I expected. _When Leonardo woke that morning to the feel of something crawling on his chest, he'd expected a very large bug staring him in the face. What he got was the tiniest monkey he'd ever seen. As he looked around the thick canopy, where he'd chosen to spend the night in the crook of a giant branch high above the ground and most predators, he saw an entire troop of the tiny primates. He wasn't sure what they were called, but Adorable would do for now. The bravest of the group was currently perched on his plastron, investigating the large new reptile, likely drawn by the smell of dried fruit that Leo had in his pouch. The moment Leonardo shifted, the monkey was gone, though not far. Ever so slowly, he reached into the pouch and pulled out some of what the small creature likely wanted. He placed it on the branch in front of him and sat back. Eventually the little one worked up the nerve to come close again and fell upon the tasty treat. Leo spent the rest of the morning earning the trust of his new friends and shortly was being tickled by tiny furry bodies climbing all over him, learning about this new creature and accepting an easy meal while they played.

_Just when I write this place off as a bug infested hell, something like this happens._ The young terrapin was more than ready for a rest. He'd travelled for days away from his lost sanctuary in search of a new temporary home. Long hours and little rest had gotten him far from those that were still searching for him and hopefully he would remain undisturbed until it was time to go home. He'd not yet found a definite place to stay but at the moment he was safe high up in the trees. Jaguars didn't come this high, he was too big and heavy for the aerial predators and a stiff wind was keeping the bugs away, so he finally allowed himself to relax and enjoy the company of some more pleasant jungle residents. Eventually, when they tired of their new game and moved off to find something more interesting, Leo sat and indulged in a late afternoon nap before grabbing a few edible leaves and settling down for the night once again.

This time it was his nose that woke him. Ancient instincts screamed, _Fire! Hide! Under the water!_ And before he knew it he was on the ground, intently listening and smelling for any sign of a body of water large enough to shelter him. The sound of voices cut through the primal panic though and his reason reasserted itself. _Humans and fire? Did I wind up near a village? Is there trouble?_ So while all the forest creatures hurried as much as they were able away from the smoke,_ Nice try sloth, you're screwed,_ Leonardo ventured forward to see what exactly was going on. It couldn't be a natural blaze, the rains had been frequent and the bush was far too wet to just catch alight. Soon he was close enough to see a group of men cutting trees and burning underbrush. _I've heard of this, they're clearing space to farm. But, we're so far from anything. I'm sure I headed away from any towns or villages that farm fields._

Then he saw the guns. Now most "civilized" folks would carry a rifle or such simply to defend from the odd attacking predator, but these men were carrying something Leonardo hadn't seen since New York, automatic weapons. _These aren't ordinary farmers! They're clearing land to grow drugs!_ They were also keeping a close eye on the bush, wary for any sign that a native or unlucky traveller had stumbled upon them. Leonardo should have been more careful.

A near wall of bullets tore through the undergrowth, and Leonardo's thigh. He grabbed a tree to steady himself and then fled for all he was worth into the darkness. After staring at the flames, his night vision needed time to refocus and the burning pain in his leg hindered him more, but he voices at his back urged him on and then, "Row! Row!" _Dogs! They have dogs! Shell, shellshel shell…._ He continued cursing in his mind as he continued to hobble away. All too soon though he realized he was in too deep._ I can't climb, I can't run and I can't hide from the dogs. What __can__ I do?_ Then it came to him. _One of a ninja's greatest weapons is deception._ Leonardo had never stripped so fast in his life, he hesitated briefly at the mask but that soon joined the rest of his gear under a bush. He moved away, shoved himself into the hollow of a tree and waited. It didn't take long for the men to reach him led by their dogs. The moment lights shone into the tree he raised his hackles and let his instincts loose. What came out of him was a deep rumbling growl akin to the sounds he'd heard from alligators and crocodiles on TV followed by a truly menacing hiss. It was enough to unnerve the dogs, but not the men. He wished he spoke their language but he hadn't know where in South America he was going to wind up, and there were several tongues spoken there. They shone their lights and peered in at him for what seemed an age. Any time they reached for him a snap or snarl warned them off. He hoped they would eventually give up and go away, _Yeah, weird animal, it's cool, you can go back to ruining other people's lives now._ Some did leave but five of them stayed and didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. _What are they waiting for? They're drug growers, why do they care about some animal? Some strange animal. Some maybe rare animal? Oh crap, they want me! And all they have to do is wait for the blood loss to knock me out! _The panic leant him strength, he raised his hackles again and tried to bolt only to be forced back in by the dogs that had now gotten used to him. _No! No! I've gotta get out of here, I've gotta….._ His efforts though only sped up the blood loss and soon, he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer….. meh**

**Yukio87: Whoa Yukio chill! Just a story. Here have a cookie and maybe relax a bit.**

**LeonardotheLeader: I try to make a point of responding to all my reviewers. Sorry for the long cliffhanger. Currently fighting pneumonia.**

**Uuumm Guest I guess: Glad you like it.**

**Sav: Yeah the marmosets were what I had in mind. I don't know that they would actually behave like this but I couldn't help myself.**

**A note. Credit for Leo's situation for most of this story is inspired by Nikita the Lion from Big Cat Rescue. They do great work, and they have wonderful videos on Youtube. Why not check them out?**

_Hot, so hot, and why am I laying on a rock?_ Leonardo slowly clawed his way back to the waking world only to decide he'd been better off unconscious. _They put me in a dog pen!?_ On all sides he was surrounded by high chain link fence, with a tattered tarp stretched taught between the corners and an actual dog house behind him. The bottom of the kennel was a cracked and weathered cement slab, likely to keep dogs from digging under the fence. Raging thirst awoke when he caught site of the water dish next to the little wooden house. He moved to grab it but cringed at the pain that suddenly blazed to life in his leg. His glassy eyes locked on the angry bullet wound in his left thigh. Someone had tried to treat the wound, but the stitches were messy, and an old dog kennel was hardly sanitary.

His parched throat again clambered for attention so he braced himself and carefully pulled the dish across the ground to his mouth. The dish fairly nasty, but the sensation of moisture in his dry mouth made it hard for him to resist chugging the water. He took a few mouthfuls and set the dish aside. Better to see how his stomach handled that first than drink it all only to bring it back up again. His most immediate concerns dealt with, the trapped turtle turned his attention to outside his cage.

It wasn't the only one. There were more kennels on either side of him, some were empty, but some contained dogs, such as the ones that kept him from escaping last night. _Last night? Yesterday? Come to think of it, I don't really know how long it's been or even where I am._ He startled as a jeep rumbled out of the bush, his eyes following it as it pulled up to a slightly ramshackle building at one end of the line of kennels. Five heavily armed men jumped out. He couldn't tell if they were the ones that caught him, the flashlights in his eyes hadn't let him see their faces clearly but they were clearly more drug men. One of them, a slight man with a bag slung over his shoulder walked over and started pulling meat out of the bag and throwing it to the dogs. Eventually he got to Leo's cage. Leonardo decided then that the best thing he could do was continue the dumb animal routine, so long as they underestimated his intelligence he had a greater chance of escaping, though that wasn't going to happen until his leg healed a bit. So he shuffled back as much as he could and hissed at the man.

Leo again wished he spoke their language as the man began talking to him in soft tones. Another chunk of meat was pushed through the fence and landed in front of the wounded turtle. The smell of raw flesh did his stomach no favours though and his focus changed to keeping the little water he'd drunk. The man's brown eyes narrowed in concern, he seemed to debate with himself for a minute and then yelled something to the others. One nodded and trotted into the building. A minute later he came back with another man and a large pair of gloves. The first man stood and talking softly again opened the cage door. Slowly they entered and came towards Leo. The sick turtle began hissing louder and tried to back away, but his leg was raging and his stomach was still trying to turn inside out. He didn't stand a chance. The first man had put on the gloves and reached for Leo's face, one ineffective bite later his jaws were being held shut and the second man had pinned him plastron down. The third man then moved in and started feeling down his body. He shook his head and tutted a bit when he got to Leo's wound. It seemed he had come to the same conclusion as Leonardo himself. The wound was infected. The man pulled a knife from his waist and slit the stiches. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask. The desperate turtle squirmed underneath the other two while his wound was cleaned with moonshine and then restitched with materials from another one of the man's pockets. Finally they backed away leaving a heaving Leonardo laying dazed on the cement. _Oh Donnie, I'll never complain about your bed side manner again._ Eventually his racing heart slowed and exhaustion pulled him under again.

The barking of dogs woke him in the evening twilight and he took a moment to just sit and stare at the stars._ I thought I missed home before._ He closed his eyes and imagined the lofty brick walls of the Lair. Laying on the couch, an infomercial playing low on the tv. His little brothers sprawled around him snoring and snuffling, his father dozing in the recliner, Casey passed out in the bean bag chair. Then the feeling of a woman's hand stroking his head and the scent of his sister lulling him back to sleep. The fevered turtle emerged from the memory of the last movie night he'd had with his family before leaving. Never had he wished to be back there more than he did now.

The crunch of dirt under boots registered and he looked to the side. The man that had tried to feed him was back with another bag and Leo's stomach turned just at the memory of the raw meat he'd been offered. The man had learned though and this time several fruit were presented. _Well, that's better._ Leo slowly pulled himself over, wary eyes never leaving the man and took the fruit. The sweet juices soothed his throat and the much needed sugars flooded his system. The man nodded and smiled, and with soft words once again left to see to the dogs. _Huh, makes a living destroying people's lives but he's really good with animals. Who knew?_ The rush of energy from the food didn't last long in his depleted system though and soon he settled down to sleep, and hopefully heal.

Those hopes were soon dashed. The wound was truly festering now, puss and stench had become Leonardo's companions along with the fever. He couldn't even stomach water anymore, let alone any food. His keeper was getting increasingly disturbed and kept bringing the groups medic, for lack of a better term, over to try and help the ailing reptile. Finally they were forced to take drastic measures. While four of them held Leo down another heated a large hunting knife. The burning blade touched his skin and the world turned white. A blurred cycle of light and dark later, Leo came back to his senses. _Is this what an old dishrag feels like?_ But he noticed that even though he was worn out weak, he no longer felt sick, until he looked down at his leg. A chunk of his thigh muscle the size of his hand was simply gone, leaving a charred ruin behind. His hopes for escape withered in his chest. Handicapped like that he wouldn't last two minutes in the jungle by himself, so even if he did gain his freedom, it would only be freedom to die.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer If I owned them I could afford not to….. nope I would still eat Kraft Dinner.**

**Yukio87: How's about instead of warm milk, a purple Russian. I think I came up with it, haven't heard anyone else doing it. Hot chocolate with a shot of black cherry vodka, that'll settle your nerves.**

**LeonardotheLeader: Aw shucks.**

**Sav: Meh, still can't sleep tonight ssoooo…**

**Loral: Thanks!**

**Tmntleonardo19: Thankyou! This fast enough for yah?**

Never let it be said that Leonardo Hamato was a quitter. Just because he'd never make it in the jungle didn't mean some other opportunity would never come his way. With that slim hope still alive he fell back on his training. His entire life had been spent training and conditioning his body, pushing to and creating new limits, and that's what he did now. Days were spent sleeping and studying his surroundings. Nights went to building strength in his wounded leg. First he virtually had to learn to walk again, muscles had to shift to support his weight in new ways. It was very painful and slow work. Not to mention he'd been put on a purely vegetarian diet, which while workable, was missing the protein he so badly needed to heal and build new muscle. He lost weight, but eventually he was mobile again, albeit with a serious limp. A walking stick would have been nice, but not an option for an "animal".

Meanwhile, things were changing in the camp. Where there had just been one small shelter and a line of kennels, there were now several buildings, many vehicles and many more men. It seems that the group he'd originally stumbled on were just the beginning of a new operation. This was both good and bad for the captive terrapin. On the one hand, more people meant more eyes he had to convince he was just a critter, and some of the new guys weren't as animal friendly as the first group. On the other hand, more vehicles, therefore more opportunities to escape. He wouldn't be able to run away, but driving away was still on the table. Once he was confident of his ability to get a jeep and disable the others he was going straight home, time limits be damned. One glance at his leg and Splinter would forgive him for sure, if he was early at all. Leo had lost count of the days during the time he was sick.

To pass the time he'd started naming the people. The first man, who was kind, he called Keeper, then there was Doc, not original, but apt. Then there was Cook, Mech, the mechanic and Boss. The farmers themselves never had anything to do with him, other than staring once in awhile and just went about their business efficiently, so he dubbed them The Collective, Donnie would love that one. Finally there was The Jerks. He had several individual names for them, varying in vulagarity depending on their cruelty. Apparently they bored easily, and one way they entertained themselves was picking on either other people or the animals. Leo was usually the last resort as Boss and Keeper generally kept them away, but sometimes at night if they were on guard duty they came knocking on his door. Often literally. They would bang on his cage, poke him with sticks to see him growl, throw rocks and rotten food at him, they would even relieve themselves in his direction.

One night, Leonardo'd had enough. One of the worst of them, the name in Leo's mind such a filthy Japanese term even thinking it made young turtle blush, was using the other's target practice to cover a little target practice of his own. Leo was reminded of old westerns when black hats would make people "dance". At least the moron had decent aim, every shot came within inches of Leonardo but he had yet to be touched by anything but small pieces of shrapnel. He didn't dare hide in the dog house, if the man couldn't see him clearly, the chances of being hit would be far greater, so he acted on another plan. The next time the man shot Leo yelped and curled in a ball as though injured. For all their bluster, the Jerks had never actually harmed him, they knew that Boss and Keeper had designated him a sort of camp mascot and valued this strange creature they'd found in the rain forest. So when he thought he'd hit the rare animal, the man panicked. He threw open the door to check and see if it was still alive, only to be met with 150lbs of raging turtle. The oily man's screams finally drew some attention and soon several others were pulling the spitting reptile off of him. Leonardo was unceremoniously dumped back in his kennel and Doc started treating the trigger happy idiot. He was fairly well mauled. Leo had decided to take every advantage and stopped trimming his nails after he was caught. The result was a decent set of claws. It didn't take the others long to figure out what had happened, if the fact that that particular moron no longer bothered Leo was any indication. As for the other Jerks, they seemed to gain a little more respect for the crippled reptile and kept their distance, all the better in Leo's mind. It meant he was left in peace to build his strength more and plan. But that changed, when the helicopter came.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: See those that came before.**

**Yukio87: You're wearing out the door on the You'll See Room. Lol**

**Dondena: I think Leo's shell would be a bit bigger and thicker than those a jaguar would normally encounter. I'm sorry to say that yes we humans have a tendency to mess things up, all we can individually do is try to do more good than harm. As for Leo's leg, I was going more for an infection, not poisoning. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.**

**Sav: Thanks for your concern. I am getting better. I only hack up a lung a couple times a day now.**

**Loral: Again, so happy you're enjoying it.**

**WhoamI: dun dun dun indeed.**

**Another guest: Glad you like it.**

**Dragonflylj: Mwahahahaha!**

**Is there anything better on this site than finding yourself and/or your work on someone's short list of favourites?**

The chirp of tree frogs, song of night birds, squeaking bugs, rustling leaves, crackling fires. These were the sounds that lulled Leo to sleep in the wee hours of the morning after a long night of working his leg. It was something very different that woke him in the daylight. It was a sound he hadn't heard in so long that it took some time for him to figure out what it was. Once he identified the "whumph, whumph, whumph" of a helicopter though, he was wide awake.

Men were scurrying back and forth across the compound like so many ants. The anxious looks on most of their faces ratcheted Leo's own nerves to high alert. Keeper came over and hurried to clean out the kennels, quickly checking over the dogs looking for any injury or dirt. There wasn't much for him to worry about, Leo may not approve of the man's choice in employers, but he was very good at his job. In short order the men lined up at the centre of the compound as the whirly bird finally came into view over the treetops and slowly settled to the ground.

Leonardo leveraged himself onto the roof of his little doghouse and craned his neck to get a better view as the obsidian blades wound down and several new men climbed out of the vehicle. They were different. For one thing, they were much cleaner than the growers and guards, for another they were wearing what to Leo's eye were very high end clothes. It wasn't hard to gather that they were higher up the totem pole then the men here, and the concern of the locals told him that this must be an inspection of some sort, the cartels ensuring that production was meeting their expectations. This was not to Leonardo's advantage. So long as these people were here security would be tighter, and they weren't the sort whose attention he would want. Even knowing that it would be out of character as he had rarely used the small shelter, the wary turtle slowly made his way into the doghouse. Better to wait for the visit to end out of sight, and hopefully out of mind. Escape would come later.

His plan worked for about a day. Obviously, the inspector's focus would be on the plants, production and security of the camp, curiosities found in the jungle wouldn't rate high in their concerns, but one was unfortunately curious enough. Oddly he happened upon the hapless turtle by accident. He had wandered over the following afternoon to see the dogs, closely shadowed by another man and Keeper. Leo watched from the shadows of his house and took the man's measure. He seemed to be the highest ranking of the visitors, the others deferred to him and appeared to guard him. Keeper was walking half a step behind him, trying and failing to not wring his hands. The leading man smiled as he got to the first cage and crouched to scratch the dog through the chain link. His tone of voice was that of a man greeting a pet, another "animal lover" perhaps? He worked his way down the line, petting each animal while taking care not to get hair or dirt on his clothes. Leo sank further into the shadows the closer he got.

Finally he reached what appeared to be an empty kennel, but the full bowls of water and fruit caught his eye. The man stopped and turned to Keeper. Soon an animated discussion in, whatever language they spoke, ensued, the man in charge getting more and more incredulous. Eventually he crouched in front of the door and peered carefully into the dark shelter at the back. His eyes widened as he spotted the large reptile lurking in the little wooden structure, he gestured to his guard and the other man circled around to the back. The beefy bodyguard reached through the fence and began to tip the house forward.

Leo braced himself as much as he could, but at nearly ninety degrees of tilt, slid through the opening onto the concrete. It wasn't really acting when he whirled and hissed at the man that had dumped him out but his attention was swiftly brought back to the instigator when the man loosed a low whistle. _Dang. This is exactly what I didn't want. _He gradually crabbed his way to the furthest corner of the enclosure, trying to put as much distance between himself and the men as he could.

Wide brown eyes followed his every move. A cautious hand reached to the bowl of fruit and tossed a morsel after him only to be met by a snarl. He shook his head and turned to Keeper again. A long conversation followed. Leonardo's heart sank as Keeper looked more and more resigned. The men nodded, shook hands and walked away. _What was that all about?_

A few more days past, the man in charge kept coming by and trying to tempt Leonardo to take any food from him, but the nervous terrapin would not oblige. One day various containers were being loaded into the chopper. _Are they leaving? I hope so, with them gone the men will relax and I might finally get out of here._ Then something unexpected and unwelcome, several men were walking in his direction, with a big wooden crate. _No. No please no._ They set it down in front of his kennel, quickly opened the door and shoved the open side of the crate up to it._ If you think I'm going in there, you've got another thing coming._ Keeper got close to the entrance and started calling Leo over. The young ninja was surprised to see tears in the man's eyes._ Huh, guess I made more of an impression than I thought._ Still he lingered at the rear of the kennel. Soon men gathered around and started prodding him forward with long sticks. Breaking the poles with either tooth or hand didn't deter them, they just grabbed more. It was decision time. _I can't go in there, who knows where I'll wind up. I'll have to take my chances in the forest. Maybe I can double back and steal a jeep later._ That tenuous plan in mind, Leo face the crate and tensed his muscles._ The moment of truth. Let's see if they counted on a jumping turtle._ He leapt as high and far as his bad leg would allow and landed on the top of the crate. Men lunged away, fearful after the damage he'd inflicted on one of their own before. He took full advantage of the opening and sprinted as fast as he could towards the green cover of the jungle. He didn't get far, several men had sterner nerves and intercepted him. They pinned him on his front as he writhed and snapped on the dusty ground. The others pulled over the crate and he was shoved inside into a mass of straw, the crate slammed shut behind him. Furious he pounded on the wood and screamed as they picked him up and loaded him with the rest of the cargo. Leo hadn't given vent to a full blown temper tantrum since he was a tot denied a coveted sweet, he made up for it now. It wasn't until they were in the air and likely far from the camp than he finally settled. Exhausted and heartbroken he slumped into the hay and wept. _How am I gonna get home now?_


End file.
